


Best Interests

by Jonjo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post Season/Series 07, Purgatory, Season/Series 08
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-26 14:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/651332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jonjo/pseuds/Jonjo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel and Dean find themselves in Purgatory. Sam's not in any position to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Best Interests

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 2012 spn_reversebang for art prompt Best Interests by chef_geekier  
> Follows immediately after the scene in 7.23 when Castiel and Dean disappear from Dick’s lab.  
> Thanks to Mike for his beta skills and to weekend_exile and maaldas for their excellent help and of course chef_geekier for the wonderful art.

“Hold on to me.” Castiel ordered, Dean complied. Unfortunately so did Lucifer. Lately, Castiel had seemed much saner and Dean had pretty much forgotten to worry about Lucifer’s presence in Castiel’s head, what with dealing with Dick and all. But as Dean and Cas landed after being zapped by the bone, he could have sworn there’d been a third person. There was no sign of anyone but Cas as he looked around and tried to get his bearings. He was going to ask Cas about it but then he was gone too, so it kind of slipped his mind as more pressing concerns took over.  
“Sam! Sam... Sammy?” Dean spun around shouting.  
*  
Castiel knew where he was, felt it and started moving almost as soon as he’d landed. He’d had the inhabitants of Purgatory inside him and he had no wish to make their acquaintance again. At least not until he’d got his bearings.  
He stopped suddenly, stunned. He stared ahead, then turned to check if Dean had kept up but he was nowhere to be seen. Small mercies, thought Cas.  
“How is this possible? How are you here? Are you here?” Castiel mused out loud, not really addressing Lucifer directly, somewhat afraid.  
“I seem to be here but I definitely don’t know why.” Lucifer’s voice came as a further shock to Castiel. His customary bark, full of confidence and menace was gone, replaced by a small, confused sound but with a pleasant tone that took Castiel back to his earliest days.  
“Luci?” Cas asked hesitantly as he moved towards him. “Is that you?”  
The implication was clear to Lucifer. And it was him. He felt as if he had never been cast from heaven, never gone against his Father. He felt light and whole and... powerful. The bitterness and anger were no more. He remembered them, could feel their loss but they no longer controlled him.  
He breathed deeply and stretched out his arms to embrace Castiel. “Brother, I seem to be an angel once more,” and a smile broke across his face, joyful and kind. Castiel flung his arms around Lucifer and smiled, whispering into his neck, “Brother, brother.”  
It seemed to Castiel as if time had come full circle. He felt the joy rise within him, the brother he had loved was here, with him, safe. He looked up into Lucifer’s face, and they pressed their lips together. Lucifer’s reaction took him by surprise; he pulled Cas in roughly and kissed him breathless.  
*  
Dean moved slowly, aching from the fall and wary of his surroundings. There was no sign of Sam. He decided he must have imagined the third person.  
The land was mostly wooded with small openings of scrub. It was quiet, unnaturally so. Eventually it occurred to Dean that there was no animal life, none at all. No bugs, no spiders, no snakes, no bears. Dean relaxed slightly and resumed his search for Cas.  
He heard laughing, soft and happy, and headed towards it. Coming around a clump of small trees he saw them.  
“What the fuck?” he shouted, “Cas, that’s fucking Lucifer!” He reached to find a weapon but came up empty. Not that much would work, he thought.  
“Stating the obvious, aren’t you, Dean?” Lucifer smiled, his voice regaining some of its confidence but none of its edge. He seemed amused. Breaking their embrace, Castiel turned to Dean and smiled, “Isn’t it wonderful?”  
Dean was totally lost for words, couldn’t grasp what he was seeing, feeling. Thoughts ran in circles in his mind: Lucifer was evil, evil personified; Castiel was his friend, Lucifer’s enemy; they were kissing, full on snogging; it was wrong; but they were both smiling.  
He turned away from them, walking away, the images he’d just seen swimming in his head, mixing with his memories of Lucifer and Sam. His anger turned his gait into a stride, picking up speed, mind in turmoil. Dean wanted to throw up. He wanted to be home – wherever that was, not here. He wanted Sam. His Sam. He wanted Cas. He wanted his Cas. He did not want his Cas in Lucifer’s arms. And he definitely did not want Cas in Lucifer’s arms, smiling.  
*  
Dean had hardly noticed before the monsters were on him. He hadn’t had a chance and was surprised to be alive when he woke up. The blood pounding through his aching head however came as no surprise.  
“Come on Deano. This isn’t the ideal place to sleep.” Maybe I’m dreaming, he thought. He could have sworn that was Gabriel’s voice. He opened his eyes. Gabriel and Balthazar where stood either side of him. “Oh God! It’s like a fucking high school reunion. What are you doing here? I thought archangels disintegrated or something when they got ganked.”  
“Apparently not,” answered Gabriel, evenly and offered a hand to help Dean up. “We better get going, it’s not exactly safe here.” Dean stood; noticing the bodies of... he wasn’t sure what, lying dead around them. “Thanks”, he said looking between Balthazar and Gabriel bemused.  
“I’ll be off then”, Balthazar started walking away. “See ya”, called Gabriel after him and headed off towards some trees. Dean followed him, tense, stumbling slightly. His head was killing him. “Hey, hold up Gabriel. Can’t you just zap us there, wherever we’re going? Where are we going? Or does your angel mojo not work here? Where the fuck are we anyway?”  
“Questions, questions”, Gabriel huffed but replied, “No, home, no, Purgatory”.  
“Purgatory? Is Dick here?” Dean wanted to know.  
“Who’s Dick?”  
“Leviathan.”  
“Shit! Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do”.  
*  
Once inside the woods, Dean could see where they were heading. What looked like a hunter’s log cabin was visible through the trees. Gabriel pushed the door open and ushered Dean in, “Mi casa es su casa”.  
“Dean stopped just inside the door, taken aback by the size of the interior. “It’s like the fuckin’ Tardis!”  
“It’s the gatehouse, or at least one of them”, Gabriel informed him. “Well, make yourself at home. Are you hungry?”  
“Yeah”, Dean groaned without a moment’s thought, “Fuckin’ starving!”  
Gabriel clicked his fingers and a large burger and fries appeared on the kitchen counter. Dean baulked. “Can I ask where it’s from?” he stared warily at the food.  
“Does it make a difference?” Gabriel asked, confused. “Where would you like it to be from?”  
“I don’t know. Not America or Canada. Europe maybe. Somewhere where Dick hasn’t been.”  
“Fine”, Gabriel clicked his fingers and a different burger appeared, with a little French flag on a toothpick stuck in the top.  
“Eat first and then I think you’d better tell me about this dick, Dick.”  
“Ok,” Dean agreed, taking a bite, “Have you seen Cas and Lucifer?”  
Gabriel stared, dumbfounded.  
*  
They’d been talking for hours. Well, Dean had. Gabe occasionally commented and asked questions. They were both trying to keep the story in sequence, resisting the urge to jump forward as thoughts bombarded their brains. Eventually Gabe asked about Cas and Lucifer, “Why did you ask if I’d seen them? How could I?”  
“Because they’re here,” Dean sighed heavily. “Man, I could do with a drink.”  
He flinched and nearly dropped the bottle that appeared in his hand. “How come you can still do that? I thought you said your angel mojo didn’t work here.”  
Gabriel laughed, waving his beer around, “Trickster, Loki, Deano. Only my angel wings got clipped!”  
“So how come you’re here?”  
“Got demoted – Gatekeeper of Purgatory, not one of the top jobs, plays havoc with your self-esteem”.  
“So you can get me outta here? Like now?”  
“Yeah, easy-peasy, whenever you like. But you should finish filling me in first.”  
“But I’ve gotta get back to Sammy!”  
“Oh” Gabe sighed, “how is Sam?”  
“He’s good. Well he was, I don’t know what happened to him after we ganked Dick.”  
“But you said Luci was in Sam’s head”.  
“Yeah, but Cas took Luci off him, Sam’s been real good since then”.  
“So how come you said they’re here. I get that Cas is, but Lucifer?  
“Yeah, I don’t know either. We thought Lucifer was still caged in Hell and that he’d somehow got access to his thoughts when Sam got out. But it looks like it was more complicated than that.” Dean went back to thinking about their current situation, “He was saying something about being reborn, redeemed. And they were fucking kissing!”  
“Ah well, yes, Cas always did have a thing for him. You know, way back when.”  
“But he’s the fucking Devil!”  
“We can all be forgiven Dean, even Luci, even you!”  
“But how could Cas do that, even think of it?”  
“Jealous, Winchester?”  
“Fuck off, Gabe”. Dean downed his beer scowling. “So what if I am?”  
“Unusually open of you Dean, are you alright?”  
“No!” Dean stalked away.  
*  
Sam had fallen asleep in the car, he’d had to pull over - couldn’t drive anymore. He’d left Dick’s factory and just driven, Crowley’s words swirling around his head. ‘It looks like you are well and truly... on your own’. He didn’t know where to go, so he’d just started driving until he could go no farther.  
*  
“Luci... Luci stop!” Castiel pulled away, got pulled back into another kiss and pulled away again. “Lucifer we have to go and find Dean. It’s dangerous here. We have to find him!”  
“Why? Why bother? I’m here. Aren’t I enough?”  
“Luci, of course you’re... No, we have to find Dean. He’s my... mine... my responsibility.”  
“Oh, if we must but I don’t know how. Did you see which way he went?”  
“Lucifer, look out!”  
Lucifer caught the blade inches from his chest. “That wasn’t very nice. Which little shit thought that’d be a good idea?”  
As he turned around he realised that Castiel probably wasn’t going to answer, having just broken the neck of an ugly looking creature. Another that looked similar was frozen to the spot a little way off, arm still raised from throwing the knife. As Lucifer levelled his gaze at him, he started to shake, spluttering, “L...L...Lu...Luc...Lucifer...”  
“Yes, Lucifer. Now get the fuck outta here and tell all your miserable fuckin’ friends, that I’m here and to stay the fuck away from me.”  
It ran.  
“Cas, you alright?” Luci asked his voice becoming soft again.  
“Yes, I think so.” Castiel got to his feet, brushing off his clothes. “Was that wise? I’m not sure you should have announced your presence.”  
“Why not? They’re no match for me. For either of us. I could have flattened them with a thought.”  
“But you didn’t. I’m not sure you can. I don’t think your... our powers are working.”  
“What? Shit...” Lucifer stood very still, considering his strength. “Hmm... Let’s get going. Find that damn boy of yours.”  
*  
“Gabriel... Gabriel... where the fuck are you?”  
“Right here.” Gabriel popped up behind him. “What’s the problem Deano?”  
“Castiel. We should find him.”  
“Oh, Balthazar’s on that. Don’t you worry kiddo, they’ll be here soon.”  
“You’re sure?”  
“Of course.”  
“Then I think I’m going to head back. See if I can find Sammy, if you’re sure he’s not here.”  
“Yeah, pretty sure. Give me a few minutes and I’ll see if I can come up with some clues on his whereabouts for you.”  
*  
When Sam woke up it was dark. He got out of the car, stretched and went to piss in the bushes.  
He started driving again, no longer directionless, heading for the old cabin they used to go to with their Dad when they were kids. He didn’t think anybody knew of its existence, no one on Earth anyway. And he could hole up there for a few days while he came up with a plan.  
*  
“This will take awhile.” Gabriel said turning away from the spell he’d set up to search for Sammy. “Why don’t you tell me more about this Dick, while we wait.”  
“What? Yeah, ok, but you don’t seem worried about Lucifer.”  
“Why should I be worried about Lucifer?”  
“He killed you! Isn’t that reason enough?”  
“Oh” Gabriel slurred lazily, “He can’t hurt me here. Well, he could but not properly.”  
“Not properly, what do you mean?”  
“No powers, Deano. They don’t work here, like I said. It’s a side effect of Purgatory, could even be permanent”. Gabriel chuckled at the thought of Lucifer unable to dominate him.  
“Oh, I thought that was just you, you know the demotion and all.”  
“Yeah well, seems there are advantages to Purgatory after all.”  
*  
It was a day and a half later that Sam had reached the cabin. It was in pretty good shape, he thought, considering how long it had been since they’d used it. The roof would need some work and one of the windows was cracked but he could see to that.  
There weren’t many provisions, just a few old cans he didn’t feel like trusting, so he’d headed off into the nearest town to get stocked up. That’s how he found himself standing in a vet’s waiting room, shouting for assistance, an injured dog in his arms.  
*  
Dean had been at Gabriel’s for a few days, just eating and sleeping and relating the events on Earth since Gabriel had been killed. Castiel and Lucifer still hadn’t turned up, but Dean could only really think of that as a good thing. He didn’t think he could stomach the sight of Cas and Lucifer kissing again.  
He’d just finished a perfectly cooked steak and was thinking that he could definitely handle a few more days of sleeping in a good bed and eating good food when Gabriel came piling into the room, huge smile on his face.  
“I think I’ve found him Deano, well at least approximately. Does Missouri mean anything to you?”  
“Er... what? That doesn’t help much. Have you any idea how fucking big Missouri is?”  
“Well he’s there somewhere. Come on, surely you can think of somewhere around there he could stay, go to ground?”  
Dean went quiet for a while, thinking back. “Shit, yes. There’s the old cabin we used to go to as kids. But we haven’t been there in years. I guess it’s worth a try.”  
Dean turned to Gabriel. “So how’s this ‘easy-peasy’ leaving Purgatory thing work then?”  
*  
Dean woke up, freezing and aching. He kept his eyes shut, curled up tight and pulled his jacket around him, willing himself back to sleep. A few unsuccessful minutes later he gave up, opened his eyes and tried to work out where he was. He was pretty sure it wasn’t Gabriel’s place, in fact it looked more like an alley. And ...“Oh God!” It stank, but at least he could be sure all his senses were working. He stood up, stretching, checking himself over.  
Heading up the alley to the road, he realised. “This is fucking Earth!”  
The old woman walking towards him gave him a weird look and crossed the road.  
*  
Castiel had just raised his fist to knock on the door, when Lucifer moved forward and shoved both him and the door out of the way. He may be an angel again, but he still wanted to make an impression on Gabriel.  
“Brother!” he yelled as he stalked into the cabin.  
“No need to shout. Despite being killed by you, you’ll find I’m in very good health and there’s nothing wrong with my hearing.” Gabriel scowled. Then he saw Castiel and he nodded politely towards him. “Cas. It seems you brought company. Care to explain how he got here?”  
“I am not sure I can, brother. But it is good to see you again.”  
Castiel looked around the large room they’d stepped into. “Where’s Dean?”  
“Gone to find Sammy”. Gabriel turned and walked towards the drinks cabinet, “Can I get you boys something?”  
“Definitely. I don’t suppose you’ve got any decent whiskey.” Lucifer followed him.  
“Wait! Gabriel, what do you mean ‘Gone to find Sammy’?” Castiel followed them both looking very perturbed, but accepted the drink he was handed.  
“Calm down Cas. He was worried about Sammy, so I sent him back to look for him.”  
“How?” Cas and Luci both asked.  
Gabriel spread his arms wide and pulled himself up to his full height. “Gatekeeper of Purgatory guys, gotta have some perks, right?  
“So you can send us back?” Lucifer asked, somewhat dubiously.  
“You sure you wanna go back to Hell, Luci?”  
*  
Dean pulled the pick-up he’d stolen off the track some way from the cabin. He didn’t want to announce his arrival. He wasn’t really sure what he’d find. He’d picked up a local paper in town, thankful that the truck’s owner had used the ashtray to store his loose change. Time was way out of whack in Purgatory just like it had been in Hell and it was nearly seven months since he’d last seen Sam.  
When he’d reached the cabin, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. In fact the cabin looked like no one had touched it but he’d found the Impala hidden among the trees so he knew Sam had at least been there at some point. Having satisfied himself nobody was around, he’d moved quietly up to the cabin and peered in through a broken window.  
He could just see his brother’s feet hanging off the worn-out couch and was trying for a better view when he had to duck fast. There was a woman with Sam. She had long dark wavy hair but he couldn’t see her face.  
Dean slunk back into the trees, watching silently, hoping the woman would leave so he could get to Sam. Nearly two hours later, the cabin door opened and the woman came out. She headed for the Impala and Dean had to steel himself against yelling out when she got in and drove off. Bitch shouldn’t be allowed near his Baby.  
Still being cautious, he moved back towards the cabin, easing in through the door, making as little noise as possible. He found Sam laid out on the couch. Dean tried to wake him but it seemed as if he was comatose. His breathing was steady but shallow and his pulse equally faint. Dean was halfway through checking Sam’s body for injuries when he heard a familiar voice outside. Thankful yet again for his father’s paranoia, he slipped into the back room and out through the trap door under the rug.  
He stayed in the crawl space under the cabin, watching. Crowley’s presence was making him worry even more about Sam. Eventually, the Impala pulled up and the woman went to join the demon.  
“How’s it going, Brigitta? I hope my boy isn’t causing any trouble.”  
“Haven’t heard a peep out of him. He’s feeling very pleased with himself, actually. Thinks he saved a dog’s life.” She smiled wickedly at Crowley. “I did make him run it over first though.”  
“Good. We need to keep him here a while longer. Has there been anyone around?”  
“No. No one, I don’t think anyone knows there’s a cabin up here.”  
“Even better. Keep it that way and don’t go overboard. I don’t want him dying on us. I’ve still got things in mind for him.”  
With that Crowley was gone and the woman walked back into the cabin.  
Dean stayed where he was until it was dark. Eventually getting back to the truck and heading towards civilization. He knew he needed to think about what he’d seen. It felt weird walking away from Sam but he wasn’t sure what kind of monster this Brigitta was and it would be foolish to go in unprepared. Besides, Crowley had been clear, she was to keep him alive. So at least there was no immediate hurry.  
He found a small bar that was serving home-cooked barbeque and decided to risk it. He wasn’t sure if any of Dick’s food was still in circulation but it seemed a safer bet than a diner. He sat at the bar with a beer and what turned out to be very good food, trying to remember where he’d heard the name ‘Brigitta’ before.  
*  
Next time he woke up he was wrapped in soft linen and easily managed to go back to sleep. He only got five more minutes, before Gabriel came into the room, loudly announcing ‘breakfast in bed’. He was followed by Castiel, Lucifer and Balthazar. Dean dragged himself back to life and gratefully accepted the mug of coffee handed to him.  
“Jesus!” Dean looked around the room, “Couldn’t you let me get up first?”  
“No. You were shouting in your sleep that we had to save Sam and you know what the time difference is like, Dean. So we thought we’d better get on to it as soon as we could.” Castiel smiled, trying to reassure him.  
“Besides kiddo, you’ve been asleep for hours and I want to know what’s happening with Sam.”  
As Dean began to describe the events of his visit to Earth, Gabriel handed him breakfast and more coffee.  
“She’s a djinn”, announced Lucifer, she’ll feed on his soul while he thinks he’s living a normal life.”  
“Crowley called her Brigitta. We’ve come across her before but I thought she’d been killed.” Dean swallowed another mouthful of bacon. “She was in Crowley’s prison, but she should have been killed when Cas destroyed them all.”  
Dean looked towards Castiel, but he was just shaking his head.  
“Well, we can’t leave Sam with her for long, however much Crowley stressed that she shouldn’t kill him. She’ll drain him completely soon enough.” Gabriel stood up. “We’d better get moving. Balthazar you’ll be ok here by yourself won’t you?”  
It seemed to Dean that Balthazar was trying hard not to sulk but he replied in the affirmative. “You two...” continued Gabriel gesturing towards Cas and Luci, “are going to need a little bit of help.”  
“Why? What kind of help?” asked Lucifer, with a very disgruntled stare.  
“The kind of help that restores at least some of your angel powers.” Gabriel retorted, largely ignoring the looks he was getting from Lucifer. “You probably won’t get them back, not immediately anyway”. He had to admit he was rather enjoying Luci’s diminished state. It felt a little like justice.  
Gabriel turned to Dean. “Get ready Deano, I’ll get these two amped up and then we’ll get going. Sammy needs us!”  
*  
The transition to Earth wasn’t quite as unpleasant for Dean with Gabriel present. He’d restored the angels’ wings, which did mean that Dean’s stomach was a bit queasy but nothing serious. Flying would never be his favourite thing.  
They scoped out the cabin. Sam and Brigitta were still inside; Sam looking worse than ever.  
They’d decided that Gabriel and Cas would lure Brigitta out, so that while they dealt with her, Dean could get into the cabin and get Sam out. Lucifer would hang back so as not to scare Sam and stay on the lookout for Crowley and his demons, should they try to come to the rescue.  
It went remarkably smoothly. Brigitta was no match for the combined force of an angry Cas and an over-protective Gabriel. Lucifer even had some fun killing demons in imaginative ways. Though he was pissed that Crowley hadn’t put in an appearance. “Damn crossroads demon” he chuntered, “too concerned with saving his own hide to come out and fight.”  
Sam, however, was in a bad way; skin and bones and still unconscious. They took him back to Gabriel’s, out of the clutches of Crowley and any of his minions.  
*  
Dean spent most of his time at Sam’s bedside; he couldn’t do much more than watch but at least it kept him away from Luci and Cas. The loved-up angels were doing nothing for his mood.  
Gabriel had disappeared soon after their return, mumbling something about a cure. It was several days later when he turned up grinning and full of enthusiasm. He’d hauled a load of candy with him and pilled it up in Sam’s room.  
“What have you got Gabe, more than just gummi bears, I hope?” At Gabriel’s glare, he continued, “Will it cure him?”  
“Should do Deano, let’s give it a try.”  
Gabriel held a small vial to Sam’s lips and made him swallow the contents. It had an immediate effect. He coughed and spluttered and nearly choked, but then he opened his eyes. Staring at Dean, and then having another coughing fit when he spotted Gabriel. When he eventually got his breath back, he looked at them both, totally confused.  
“What... where am I? Are we dead? Gabriel you’re dead!”  
“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, Sammy boy. How are you feeling?”  
“Pretty crap. What happened to me?”  
“Remember that djinn, Brigitta, you and Samuel Campbell caught?” Dean asked. Sam nodded and he continued. “She’s been keeping you in la-la land for nearly a year; feeding on you... your soul, or your energy or whatever”.  
“But you came back Dean. And you were really pissed that I hadn’t been hunting.”  
“Not me Sammy, we got you outta there as soon as we found out.”  
“But what about Kevin? What’s happened to him?” Sam looked really worried.  
“When you came back...” Sam paused and shook his head, “No, when I thought you’d come back, in my head. You found my phones that I’d turned off and hidden and there were messages from Kevin saying that Crowley had him. That’s why you were so angry, you thought I’d abandoned him.”  
“Gabe, we’ve gotta find out if that’s true. See if Crowley really has got Kevin. I wouldn’t put it past that double-crossing djinn bitch to dump Crowley in it via Sam’s fantasies.”  
“First who’s Kevin?”  
“Prophet of the Lord”, chorused Sam and Dean.  
“In that case,” Gabriel said standing up, “I’ll get Cas and Luci on it straight away. It’ll be good for them to have something to do other than...”  
“Yeah, thanks Gabe,” interrupted Dean. “There’s no need to go into freaking detail.”  
Gabriel smirked at Dean and continued, “Lucifer’s been dying for an excuse to go after Crowley.”  
“Cas and Luci? Dean what the fuck’s going on? And where the hell are we anyway?”  
“Calm down Sammy. No need to be a girl. We’re in Purgatory. In Gabriel, the Gatekeeper’s house. And you should get some sleep.”  
“But Lucifer, Dean! Gabe said Cas and Lucifer!”  
“Yeah, I know Sam and it’s disgusting. But... Luci’s a bit different these days.”

Gabriel headed through the house in search of Cas and Luci. Hearing their voices he headed towards their room.  
“Luci? There are spots on my wings! Blue spots!! What the ...” The room was dark and Castiel had automatically spread his wings around them both as Lucifer had walked out of the bathroom, with just a towel around his hips. Castiel was loving the security of having his brother beside him. It wasn’t until Lucifer had spread his pale wings, reflecting what little light there was, that he was able to see the dots. As Castiel turned to face Lucifer, he gasped, then giggled. “Someone’s gone all Damien Hirst on yours!”  
Another figure moved into the room and turned on the lights. “Gabriel!” Luci and Cas shouted, scowling at the Trickster.  
“What?” “What?” he repeated, then grinned, practically splitting his face, eyes sparkling mischievously. “It’s just a side effect of that empowerment magic – it’ll wear off.”  
“Gabriel!” Lucifer growled, “I’m meant to be the bloody devil, Satan, King of Hell, Beelzebub! I can’t go around with spotty fuckin’ wings!”

fin


End file.
